Stele

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angiosperms

There are many individual vascular strands (or vascular bundles) in the primary body of the stem (see below Stems), and they all converge into a single central vascular cylinder in the root, forming a continuous system of vascular tissue from the root tips to the leaves. At the centre of the vascular cylinder of most roots is a solid, fluted (or ridged) core of primary xylem (Figure 9). The...

vascular plants

The vascular cylinder of a stem or root is called the stele. The simplest and apparently most primitive type of stele is the protostele, in which the xylem is in the centre of the stem, surrounded by a narrow band of phloem. It in turn is bounded by a pericycle of one or two cell layers and a single cell layer of endodermis. The pericycle is generally the layer giving rise to the branches in...

The steles—cylinders of vascular tissues in the centres of fern stems—exhibit somewhat diverse patterns. Most common ferns possess a “dictyostele,” consisting of vascular strands interconnected in such a manner that, in any given cross section of stem, several distinct bundles can be observed. These are separated by regions filled with parenchyma cells known as leaf...

...that reinforces the cellulose cell wall. The living sieve elements that comprise the phloem are not lignified. Xylem and phloem are collectively called vascular tissue and form a central column (stele) through the plant axis. The ferns, gymnosperms, and flowering plants are all vascular plants. Because they possess vascular tissues, these plants have true stems, leaves, and roots. Before the...

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